With the recent release of House of Cards, Netflix's first truly original show (Lillehammer was co-financed by a Norwegian network, I believe), the growing popularity of both Netflix and Hulu, the continuing decline of nightly viewers but upturn in nightly+7 viewers, and stalwart programs scattered throughout nearly every cable network, where do you see the network television industry next year? Next 5, 10, 20 years?

This article popped up on Vulture a few days ago, and it makes some really good points.

Quote:

Five or ten years from now, there's a good chance we'll recognize NBC as the Peacock in the coal mine, the first one to fall as the broadcast era came to a close — or, at least, morphed into something far different than what we've known for the past 60 years.

What is the issue? Is the programming not tailored enough to the demographic(s)? Is every network exec completely boneheaded? Is the leniency of cable too tantalizing to compete against? Is it really just the fact that we'd rather watch from our computers or is there more to it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any number of things regarding this situation. I'm going to take this time to try and draw up a more cohesive argument, but I know there's some outspoken users out in the ether for the time being. Let's talk about it.

I don't think that we necessarily would rather view from our computers. The thing is, I personally still like watching my programs on the big screen as opposed to my laptop. But with the advent of programs like Netflix and Hulu, plus free (illegal) streaming sites, i think the unfortunate truth is that people put following their programs as they air on TV is a low priority for the majority of TV viewers. We're seeing the same thing now with every night of TV that we have seen for years on Friday nights. People aren't taking time out to watch their shows, because they know it is so easy to catch up on them later.

I think the most interesting advent of the "Netflix" era is the advent of binge viewing. I personally watched all 13 episodes of House Of Cards over a 2 day period. I wonder how cable networks will respond to that. I almost wonder if the 3 episode block of community last spring was as a result of the rise in binge viewing. If it was that was a massive failure for NBC as the rating dropped for each consecutive episode and the 3rd episode was the lowest rated in the show's history.

For me its just more practical. Having work and school makes me incapable of actually live viewing some of my favorite programs, so it just gets to the point where my television viewing has been reliant on my computer. I mean, most of my favorite shows came out of binge viewing rather than actually watching it on television. It's not so much what the network heads are doing wrong, the fact of the matter is that entertainment shows are going to find a more accessible medium.

I DVR shows because I can't fucking stand commercial breaks and I don't want to be tied to a TV schedule. And as much as I love marathoning TV shows, I feel like Netflix is making a mistake by releasing all their episodes at once. Gives a very brief period of time where people discuss the show, you don't have the "I wonder if next weeks episode..." discussions and makes it harder to avoid spoilers.

I feel like the continually growing antiquity of the Nielsen system plays a large part as well. The fact that nearly everyone knows that them watching live doesn't matter adds to the whole 'less of an event' thing. Why watch if my eyes don't count?

Yeah, to the point of TV being less of an "event," it is hard for me to remember back to over a decade ago where missing a new show that broadcast at 8 could mean not being able to see the show. I remember that TV used to be bonding with my family; shows that I would watch with my father, mother, sister and then something we all watched as a family. I do the binge watching sparingly (House of Cards was done in three days) that was addressed in the Salon article above, and I actually prefer waiting so that there is some break between each complete thought. I suppose there is something to the fact that normally, House of Cards would have been a three month commitment if it were to air on television.

To add on to the end of your point, I'm excited to see three months down the road as far as how people enjoyed House of Cards that watched it weekly/biweekly vs. people who took it all in over a weekend. Think there will be a lot of disconnect?

I really enjoyed House of Cards. A lot. But the economics of Netflix making it really don't make sense to me... I can't really wrap my head around it. I think that something like what they did will eventually be more commonplace, but I can't really make sense of how they would be able to afford to do that with any regularity.

I really enjoyed House of Cards. A lot. But the economics of Netflix making it really don't make sense to me... I can't really wrap my head around it. I think that something like what they did will eventually be more commonplace, but I can't really make sense of how they would be able to afford to do that with any regularity.

Why is this considered the Golden Age of television? The Wire, The Sopranos, and Deadwood are all over. Seinfeld was fifteen years ago.

I tend to agree with the person the AV Club writer is discussing. I am not going to start watching Treme or Boardwalk Empire until they are over because I have a job and other things to do than to wait for other seasons and plan all of that out. I would rather take in the whole thing over the course of a few weeks, maybe an episode or two a day. I wouldn't read a book or watch a movie over the course of six years, either.